The present invention relates to an apparatus for bathing invalids, and in particular to a controller for bathing units with an overhead door.
Our above-referenced patent application discloses a bathtub having a lateral opening in one side thereof to permit invalid ingress and egress, and an overhead door assembly for selectively closing the opening. The door includes a sealing edge, having a generally wedge-shaped, upwardly opening contour, which mates with a lip defining the lateral opening. The door is slidably mounted on a pair of tracks disposed on opposite sides of the door, whereby the door is vertically translated into a closed position, and rotated as it is raised into a substantially horizontal, overhead storage position. A compression seal is attached to the door sealing edge, and is compressed against the lip to form a watertight seal therebetween which is sufficiently leakproof to maintain a head of water in the bathtub for immersal bathing of an invalid.
The door must be securely locked in the closed position with the seal firmly and evenly compressed to maintain a watertight seal, particularly when the tub is completely filled during immersal bathing. Further, the door must translate freely between the closed and open positions, and is preferably counterbalanced for safety purposes, as well as ease of operation.